Lord of Chaos, Honorary Crusader
by Sensara
Summary: Discord surprises Applebloom by offering to help her earn her cutie mark. Sweetie and Scoots are skeptical, Applejack is furious, and Twilight feels like he has ulterior motive. But something stirs in the darkest depths of the Everfree, waiting to take over Equestria, with or without Discord's help. What side will he choose? Rated T for safety.


_**Disclaimer: I own nothing. MLP belongs to the mighty Fausticorn, and Hasbro, not me.**_

_**A/N: This takes place during early Season 4, by the way, after "Flight to the Finish".**_

Celestia's sun beat down warm and bright on the shady lane as Applebloom made her way back home for supper. She and Twist had visited a local watering hole together that afternoon, and swimming left her pleasantly tired, almost sleepy. She trotted over the rugged dirt road, gazing over the verdant green hills towards town; the banners on the shops fluttered in the wind, and the breeze whispered through the eaves of the trees. Late summer was upon Equestria. Harvest would come soon, only a week after Summer Wrap-Up Day, and since that was barely a month away, she knew Applejack would call upon her to help with the Apple family's part in the preparations.

Some of the older ponies (most of whom were Granny Smith's age) often complained that there were too many festivals in Ponyville and not enough hard work. But Applebloom saw the world through a filly's eyes, and one more festival was nothing to shake a stick at. Why, they may even have a pie-eating contest again this year, or a relay race. She made a mental note to ask Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo to practice for any possible races. Rainbow Dash loved to race, and she had an awesome cutie mark to show for it. Maybe they could get their cutie marks in relay racing!

With that happy thought, she turned onto the lane that would take her to the farm, but the glow she felt at the thought of her friends and of cutie marks vanished: two familiar voices carried with the wind as they traveled over the hill to her left.

"Well, well, well!" a sugary, snooty voice called out to her. "If it isn't the blank flank loser! Where are your friends, Apple Bloomers?"

Silver Spoon giggled at the name Diamond Tiara had taken to calling the yellow filly, and Applebloom narrowed her eyes against the hot sting of tears. It was easier to take their taunts and teasing when her friends were with her, but Scootaloo was gone to an air hockey game with Rainbow Dash (and would no doubt be recalling it for months to come), and Sweetie Belle was helping Rarity deliver a large order to Las Pegasus, and would be gone for at least two days.

The yellow filly sighed. "Scootaloo's with Rainbow Dash, and Sweetie Belle's with her sister. I have to get home for supper. _My_ sister needs my help with the fritters."

"Oh, the fritters can wait," Silver Spoon said, taking a patronizing, simpering tone. "Diamond Tiara and I were just talking about the Summer Wrap-Up Festival."

"You and your friends should _totally_ enter the relay race," Diamond suggested. "I mean, there's no way a cripple, a farmer and a tiny little unicorn could lose!"

"Hey!" Applebloom shouted. "You take that back about Scootaloo!"

"Why?" she sneered, and Silver giggled. "It's the truth. Wouldn't your big sister want you to hear the truth?"

Admittedly, she had no retort to that, and her eyes filled with tears. "Shut up," she growled, her mane bristling in anger. What right did these highfalutin' types think they had to go around calling Scootaloo a cripple? "We _will_ enter that relay race, and we _will_ beat you. Just like we beat you in the flag-carrying competition."

"You only won that because Ms. Harshwhinny felt sorry for your pegasus friend," Diamond Tiara retorted. "You may as well face it, Apple Bloomers...the Equestria Games will be the highlight of your life, and there's nowhere to go but down. So enjoy it while you can. You'll never get your cutie mark, and..."

Even as Applebloom's eyes filled with tears, Diamond Tiara trailed off, her mouth falling open in a terrified gape. Her eyes were fixated on a point over Applebloom's head, and even as the yellow filly tried to turn around, a shadow fell across the three of them.

"Hello, girls," a smooth, silky, masculine voice murmured next to her ear, and Applebloom beat a hasty retreat away from its owner. Head of a horse, one deer antler and one goat horn (turned blue), bird wing, bat wing, lion's paw and eagle claw, gator leg and goat hoof, dragon's tail, and the scariest eyes she had ever seen: she was standing next to Discord, but his gaze was fixed on her tormentors, a sickeningly malicious grin on his face. His bushy eyebrows furrowed together as his eyes narrowed, and cutting through her fear came a glimmer of satisfaction that Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon looked absolutely terrified.

"Y-you...y-you're that dragon thing," Silver whimpered, then squealed in fright as Discord flew over to her and wrapped his lithe body behind her, keeping her from running away. "You're that monster that turned Ponyville upside-down!"

He laughed, throwing his head back in pure glee. "Indeed I am, my dear! So pleased to know that you've heard of me! Discord, Master of Chaos, at your service, Silver Spoon."

"H-how do you know my name?" she squeaked.

The draconequus giggled (the sound of which was rather disturbing and made chills crawl down Applebloom's spine), thrusting his left arm around Silver Spoon and squeezing her into his slender body. "I was just passing by and heard your little conversation with your good friend, Diamond Tiara." Upon naming her, he put his right arm around Diamond's neck, stroking a claw down her cheek. "And I just so happen to know several ponies in this area, including our dear friend, Apple Bloomers!"

For a brief moment, Applebloom thought Discord would do something to help her, but it seemed her hopes were all in vain. He was here to tease her, or maybe all of them, or maybe do something much, much worse. Applejack said the draconequus was "reformed", but had warned her baby sister to stay away from him. Her eyes filled with tears, and she took a step backward.

"Look at that flank!" he chortled. "The magic responsible for making cutie marks appear seems to be staying far away from her! You may have been right in saying she won't ever get one!"

Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon shared a frightened glance with each other, and both laughed nervously, perhaps trying to placate the monster in the hopes he wouldn't turn on them too.

"But then again, it's very hard to earn a cutie mark...much easier to _take_ one away..."

Silver Spoon gulped, and Applebloom brightened. Maybe, just maybe...

With a flash of light, Discord was high above her head, but he had grown to enormous size. He was truly a monster now, as big as a house, and Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were dangling from his claw, smaller than mice in comparison to him. Applebloom had been left safely on the ground, and none of his magic seemed to be directed towards her.

"How would you two like to be blank flanks for a thousand years?" the draconequus roared from the heavens. She could hear the bullies screaming for their parents, and Discord was laughing, and then he dropped them with a gleeful grin.

Diamond and Silver shrieked as they plummeted towards the ground, and her heart stopped. While dangling them up in the air was funny and satisfying, she didn't want them to get hurt. She cried out for Discord to catch them, and another flash blinded her for a moment, and the bullies were gone.

She felt her face go pale as the blood drained from it. "Where did they go?"

"I sent them home," said a voice in her ear, and she turned to see Discord lounging in midair beside her, a warm, friendly smile softening his monstrous features. "They weren't hurt, just scared silly. Did you see the looks on their faces?"

He started laughing, twirling around in the air, tears streaming from his yellow eyes.

"So...you're _not_ goin' to hurt me?"

He stopped laughing and stared at her, apparently bemused. "Why, my dear sweet Applebloom, I wouldn't harm a hair on your head. How about a milkshake?"

"Say what now?"

He snapped his fingers, and in a flash of light, a small stretch of the picket fence was replaced with a bar, complete with the classic retro barstools and vinyl countertops of a soda bar. He had even transformed a portion of the ground into checkered tiling, and Discord sat at the bar, wearing a black jacket and a pair of sunglasses.

"Come on, toots," he pressed, putting on an accent as he patted the stool next to him. His voice reminded her of Babs, and she giggled. "Next drink's on me. Whataya have, vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, cookies and cream, pineapple, grilled cheese sandwich?"

As he named the flavors, they appeared on the counter in a flash of light, each garnished with a cherry.

"Grilled cheese sandwich? You...you can't be serious," she said with a nervous grin. "Who would drink a grilled cheese sandwich milkshake?"

Discord chuckled. "I met a stallion a few months back who loved it. He seemed a real cheese enthusiast, not that I blame him."

Applebloom frowned at the bright orange milkshake in front of her. "No, thank you," she said politely, and she was taken aback at how Discord seemed to deflate. He grumbled something under his breath, but then she grinned.

"I like strawberry better." And she grabbed the pink milkshake and took a drink.

The draconequus brightened and clapped his paw and claw together, smiling brashly at her. Applebloom shivered slightly at the sight of his fangs, but returned the smile as she slurped away at her milkshake. It was actually quite good, and she told him so, taking another long pull.

"So," he said, leaning back against the bar, "why are you so desperate for a cutie mark?"

She put down her milkshake and sighed. "Everypony else has one, except for me. And Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. Those bullies tease us all the time about it. It's just...most ponies my age have theirs already, and what...what if I never get mine?"

He patted her head, sighing in apparent exasperation. "You store too much value in some arbitrary tattoo on your backside, silly filly. They're overrated!"

"But Ms. Cheerilee says a cutie mark is a sign of what makes a pony special!" She almost couldn't bring herself to say the words. "Discord...what if I'm _not_ special? I know sometimes ponies get similar marks n' all, but what if I'm less than that even? What if I'm less than ordinary? Some freak who has no talents and..."

The look in his eyes made her trail off into a subdued silence, and she didn't dare speak over him.

"Applebloom, my dear," he said, his tone surprisingly gentle. "Do you see a mark on me?"

Her eyes slid along his lithe, snakelike body, and she didn't see anything that could be mistaken for a cutie mark.

"No," she admitted.

"See? I was granted unfathomable powers, and I don't need a mark on my flank to tell me that I'm a unique individual."

"But you're the Lord of Chaos!" the filly protested. "I don't think there are many of you running around! I'm just some schoolpony who..."

He chuckled. "I appreciate the compliment. And before you ask, I don't have the power to give you a cutie mark. Even if I had the power to grant you one, I wouldn't. That magic is too..._orderly_." He stuck out his tongue and shivered in disgust. "But maybe I can help you earn one."

"_Really?!_" she squealed before she could contain herself. She coughed and straightened. "I mean...really? You'd do that for me?"

"Why not? Your new princess will probably want proof that I'm..." he cleared his throat, "reformed. What better way to show it than to help a filly in need of a _good friend_?"

"You've got yerself a deal!" she shouted, holding out her hoof for him to shake. He took it in both his paw and claw and shook it vigorously, nearly shaking her off her barstool. "But what about Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo?"

"Oh, I guess I could help them too," he said, somewhat less enthusiastically, she noted. "Be back here at 8:00 sharp tomorrow morning. We've got a lot of work to do!"

He let her finish the strawberry milkshake, and then he blew her a kiss and snapped his fingers. The soda bar and all its contraptions disappeared in a flash of light so bright she had to close her eyes, and when she opened them, Discord was also gone. The lane was back to normal, no trace of chaos in sight, and she straightened her neck and marched proudly towards home.

_8:00 sharp, my dear, _she heard his voice in her head, and she stopped for a moment to listen. _Don't be late._

"I won't be," she muttered to herself, and she almost thought she could hear a low chuckle on the wind.


End file.
